Liu Ding and Carol Yinghua Lu to Curate the 19th Istanbul Biennial

Liu Ding und Carol Yinghua Lu kuratieren 19. Istanbul-Biennale

The 19th Istanbul Biennial, scheduled from September 18 to November 14, 2027, will be curated by Chinese artist and curator Liu Ding and art historian and curator Carol Yinghua Lu, as announced by the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (İKSV). The duo has worked together since 2007, previously co-curating the 8th Yokohama Triennale (2024), the Trans-Southeast Asia Triennial (2021), the Anren Biennale (2017), and the Shenzhen Sculpture Biennale (2012).

Special Interest: Marble

Spezialinteresse: Marmor

Karl Kolbitz has published a new book focusing on the depiction of marble in Early Renaissance paintings. He explores how artists used the fictional representation of marble to visualize the divine, drawing inspiration from art historian Georges Didi-Huberman and employing modern imaging techniques to reveal previously hidden details.

Would you sit on this? Australian designers take on the humble chair – in pictures

For the 10th edition of Melbourne Design Week, over 100 chairs by Australian designers are on display in an exhibition titled '100 Chairs', curated by Friends & Associates. Selected from an open call, each chair had to be made in Australia and functional for sitting. The designs range from traditional timber dining chairs to experimental pieces, including a chair that transforms into a table, a horse-shaped chair, and one with a satanic theme. The exhibition is held at South Magdalen Laundry, Abbotsford Convent in Melbourne until 24 May 2026.

From men on dog leads to public breast-fondling, Valie Export’s art demanded a total feminist revolution

Valie Export, the pioneering Austrian feminist artist known for her provocative and confrontational performances from the 1960s onward, is the subject of a reflective essay by writer and academic Hettie Judah. The article revisits Export's radical works such as *Hyperbulia* (1973), where she crawled naked through electrified wires; *From the Portfolio of Doggedness* (1968), in which she led a man on a dog lead through Vienna; and *Action Pants: Genital Panic* (1969), where she walked through a cinema with exposed genitals. Judah draws on her own interviews with Export, who died in 2023, and discusses the artist's manifesto demanding that women use art to reshape consciousness and achieve liberation.

Oleg Prokofiev’s Lost Trove of Paintings Comes to Light After Decades in Hiding

A trove of abstract paintings and sculptures by Russian artist Oleg Prokofiev, hidden for decades in Moscow after he fled the Soviet Union, has been rediscovered and is now on public display for the first time. Prokofiev concealed the works in the 1950s and 1960s to avoid state persecution—abstract art was banned in the USSR, and his relationship with British scholar Camilla Gray made marriage impossible until 1969. After Gray's death and his move to England, the artworks remained safely stored in Moscow, where he found them intact after the Soviet collapse. The collection, including paintings, sculptures, sketchbooks, and letters, is now exhibited at the newly founded Prokofiev Studio in Hackney, London, established by his four children and curator Anzhela Popova.

In Tuscany, an Artistic Sculpture Hub Thrives

The article profiles Pietrasanta, a small town in Tuscany, Italy, that has evolved into a thriving international sculpture hub. It traces the town's artistic lineage back to Michelangelo, who sourced marble from local quarries in 1518, and highlights how today a dense network of workshops, foundries, and craftspeople attracts artists from around the world. The local government has established the Fondazione Centro Arti Visive di Pietrasanta to promote the town as a year-round art center, not just a seasonal destination. The piece features the Armenian-born artist Mikayel Ohanjanyan, who has seven sculptures on display in the town.

A Dutch Art Studio Lights Up Venice’s Grand Canal

Dutch artists Lonneke Gordijn and Ralph Nauta of Studio Drift have installed their kinetic light sculptures along Venice’s Grand Canal, bringing their work outdoors for the first time during the Venice Biennale. The installation transforms the iconic waterway with moving, illuminated forms that interact with the surrounding architecture and water.

'Walk this way' — Easton welcomes art lovers on First Friday

Easton's downtown art scene came alive during the May First Friday event, with multiple galleries opening their doors to the public. At the Zach Gallery inside the Prager Family Center for the Arts, a new exhibition of paintings by Paton Miller was curated by interior designer Jeffrey Parker. The TRA Gallery, run by the Talbot Arts Council, featured a photography show by Steve Waltrich, Mike Miller, and Maire McCardle. Troika Gallery, Easton's original fine art gallery, also participated, with artist Deborah Elville showing her work. Looking ahead, Zach Gallery announced a June 4 solo exhibition by Rhode Island artist Breath Day Wyndham titled "Gathering the Chesapeake," featuring cyanotypes created from flora and fauna collected from the Chesapeake Bay region.

The 10 best pavilions to see at the 2026 Venice Art Biennale. Artribune's top ten

I 10 migliori padiglioni da vedere alla Biennale d’Arte di Venezia 2026. La top ten di Artribune

Artribune presents its top ten must-see national pavilions at the 2026 Venice Biennale, which features a record 100 participating countries. The article highlights standout projects including Greece's escape room by Andreas Angelidakis critiquing nationalist populism, Belgium's participatory dance installation by Miet Warloop, and Canada's greenhouse-like pavilion by Abbas Akhavan exploring colonial botany. The Biennale, curated by Koyo Kouoh under the theme "In Minor Keys," is marked by last-minute jury resignations leading to public voting for the Golden Lions, as well as protests over the participation of Russia and Israel.

Constellations Warsaw 2026 at Galeria Wschód

Constellations Warsaw 2026, a group exhibition curated by Galerie Max Mayer, opened at Galeria Wschód in Warsaw from April 10 to May 16, 2026. The show features works by artists Nicolás Guagnini, Cudelice Brazelton IV, Tobias Hohn, and Stanton Taylor, presenting a constellation of contemporary practices across 20 exhibition images.

Sahar Khoury, RJ Messineo at The Green Gallery

The Green Gallery in Milwaukee is presenting a two-person exhibition featuring works by artists Sahar Khoury and RJ Messineo, running from April 10 to May 16, 2026. The show includes 31 images documenting the exhibition, with no videos or text descriptions provided in the press release.

The San Juan Islands Museum of Art Summer 2026 Exhibitions include Photography, etching, glass sculpture and feather sculpture

The San Juan Islands Museum of Art (SJIMA) in Friday Harbor, Washington, will present three exhibitions from June 11 to September 14, 2026, featuring photography, etching, glass sculpture, and feather sculpture. The exhibitions include "Convergence & Divergence: The Family Aesthetic" in the Nichols Gallery, showcasing the work of Imogen Cunningham, Roi Partridge, and Rondal Partridge together for the first time, with over 100 photographs and prints spanning nearly 110 years. Also on view are "Feathered Masterpieces: The Artistry of Chris Maynard" in the North Gallery, featuring intricate feather carvings, and a glass sculpture by Raven Skyriver.

Adrian Ghenie: Roman Campagna | Exhibition review

Adrian Ghenie's exhibition "Roman Campagna" at a Paris gallery presents a series of paintings and charcoal drawings that subvert the romantic cliché of an artist's transformative encounter with Rome. Ghenie populates landscapes inspired by the Appian Way with grotesque, alien-headed figures hunched over smartphones, urinating on monuments, or weeping at sunsets, using brown and grey tones punctuated by bright colors. The works reference Francis Bacon and William S. Burroughs, and include direct allusions to Bacon's reinterpretation of van Gogh's self-portrait, as well as a copy of a Pompeii mosaic. The show also features large charcoal drawings on paper that reveal Ghenie's process of constructing his contemporary, alienated figures.

Met Inaugurates ‘Costume Art’ for the Spring 2026 Exhibition

The Metropolitan Museum of Art will open 'Costume Art' in spring 2026, a major exhibition that positions fashion as a lens for examining the human body across cultures and history. Housed in a new 12,000-square-foot gallery adjacent to the Great Hall, the show pairs garments from The Costume Institute with ancient statues, artworks, and paintings, organized around thematic body types such as idealized, distorted, exposed, and reclaimed. The exhibition design by Peterson Rich Office uses sheer scrims and varied ceiling heights to create an immersive, interconnected experience.

'Greater New York' Exhibit Gets Real at MoMA PS1

MoMA PS1 opened the sixth edition of its quinquennial exhibition 'Greater New York,' featuring over 50 artists from the New York area. The show, which debuted in 2000 as the first joint project between the Museum of Modern Art and P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center, fills all floors of the Queens museum with works addressing local themes such as immigration, taxi drivers, massage parlors, rats, and bodega cats. Notable installations include 'Unfree Free Time' by fields harrington, which pays a delivery driver minimum wage for each hour his bike is displayed, and a mural by the Cevallos Brothers, known for their posters for local businesses.

First Look at the Met’s ‘Costume Art’ Where Every Body Matters, Really

The Metropolitan Museum of Art has unveiled its spring exhibition "Costume Art" in the Condé M. Nast Galleries, featuring around 200 pairings of garments and artworks that trace connections across centuries. The show prioritizes fashion over art, displaying dresses, jeans, body stockings, and bustiers to explore the human form through sections like "Naked and Nude Body," "Corpulent Body," and "Disabled Boy." Chief curator Andrew Bolton emphasizes celebrating body diversity amid threats from AI and politics, with nine individuals—including fashion designer Michaela Stark—scanned to create more realistic mannequins.

Ásta Fanney Sigurðardóttir: Pocket Universe

The Icelandic Art Center will present "Pocket Universe," a multidisciplinary exhibition by artist, poet, composer, and filmmaker Ásta Fanney Sigurðardóttir, representing Iceland at the 61st Venice Biennale. The exhibition, held at the Icelandic Pavilion's new location at Docks Cantieri Cucchini, explores shifting perspectives through hope, imagination, and belief, blending sound, performance, moving image, sculpture, and installation. It features a moving image work centered on a character called "Creature Zero" searching for the "original rock," and incorporates themes of luck, chance, and transformation through playful, game-like structures.

Robert McLaughlin Gallery Opens New Summer Exhibits in Oshawa

The Robert McLaughlin Gallery in Oshawa, Ontario, will launch its summer exhibition season on June 13, 2026, featuring five new displays. The season includes solo shows by artists Stephen Andrews, Oliver Husain, and Austin Henderson. Andrews presents 'The sum of the parts,' a display of 125 drawings examining media coverage of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Husain offers an immersive video installation titled 'I ♥ Snail,' exploring the history of IMAX cinema. Henderson, the RBC emerging artist in residence, debuts works investigating queer history and the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Canada through his family history. A free public event with curator remarks, artist-led tours, and a complimentary shuttle from OCAD University in Toronto will mark the opening.

Art Abounds on Campuses Outside of New York City

Academic museums at Princeton, Yale, Cornell, and Skidmore have organized several standout exhibitions worth visiting beyond TEFAF New York. These shows highlight the rich programming happening on campuses outside the city, offering diverse artistic perspectives and scholarly depth.

Blood-Red Landscapes by Andrew McIntosh Conjure the Terrifying Unknown

Scottish artist Andrew McIntosh presents a new series of crimson-hued landscape paintings in his solo exhibition "I Hope This Transmission Finds You Soon" at School Gallery in Folkestone, U.K. The works, including pieces titled "Whitney," "K2," "Gasherbrum," and "Matterhorn" (all 2026), transform familiar mountain forms into eerie, otherworldly scenes with glowing orbs and uncanny light, drawing inspiration from Cormac McCarthy's novel "Blood Meridian." The exhibition runs through May 30.

Birmingham celebrates 'forgotten pop-art pioneer' Peter Phillips

An outdoor exhibition titled 'Pop Goes Brum!' will be held in Birmingham's Snow Hill Square from 9 to 30 June 2025, celebrating the life and work of Peter Phillips, a pioneering British pop artist who died in June 2025. Curated by art historian Ruth Millington and developed in partnership with Birmingham School of Art, the free exhibition aims to showcase Phillips' 'pioneering achievements' and his deep connection to Birmingham, where he was born in 1939 and trained at Moseley School of Art and Birmingham School of Art. Phillips, who ranked alongside David Hockney, Pauline Boty, Peter Blake, Andy Warhol, and Roy Lichtenstein, was a key figure in the international pop art movement and helped launch British pop art with a 1961 exhibition.

"Costume Art" MET Museum Exhibition

The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute has opened a new exhibition titled "Costume Art," featuring a design by Robert Wun displayed in the "Vital Body" section. The show opened on Saturday, May 2, 2026, in New York, as captured in a photograph by Charles Sykes for Invision.

Exhibition | Andrea Torres Balaguer, 'T-10 Project' at Alzueta Gallery, Séneca, Barcelona, Spain

Alzueta Gallery in Barcelona is presenting 'T-10 Project', an exhibition by artist Andrea Torres Balaguer. The show is part of the gallery's ongoing program, which spans five locations across Barcelona, Madrid, Casavells, and Paris, and includes exhibitions, art fairs, residencies, and collaborative projects.

Art exhibition at P.E.I. Farm Centre features work of Wendy Jones

The P.E.I. Farm Centre in Charlottetown is hosting an exhibition titled "Chaos Corralled: Art Harvested from the Heart of Havoc" by Belle River artist Wendy Jones, running from May 20 to June 30. The show features paintings and photographs, with an opening reception on May 20 where Jones will demonstrate fluid art techniques and offer visitors a chance to create their own miniature pour paintings.

Obey racconta la sua mostra a Napoli ad Artbox su Sky Arte

The article covers the latest episode of Artbox on Sky Arte, focusing on the exhibition "OBEY: Power to the peaceful" at Gallerie d'Italia in Naples, running until September 6. Curator Giuseppe Pizzuto, artist Shepard Fairey (OBEY), and Michele Coppola of Intesa Sanpaolo discuss the show, which features over 130 works addressing global imbalances and peace as a political act. The episode also includes a segment on overtourism by Maria Vittoria Baravelli, a book review of "Misia e Basta" by Francesca Frigerio, and a feature on the interdisciplinary exhibition "La Maddalena di Piero di Cosimo" at Palazzo Venezia in Rome, curated by Edith Gabrielli.

In Savona there is a new contemporary culture festival that aims to make tradition dialogue with the most emerging research

A Savona c’è un nuovo festival di cultura contemporanea che mira a far dialogare la tradizione con le ricerche più emergenti

A new contemporary culture festival called Brucia has launched in Savona, Italy, with its zero edition running from May 9 to 17, 2026. Organized by the under-30 association Fiammiferi, founded by Teresa Raineri, the festival transforms the Fortezza del Priamàr and Teatro Chiabrera into a diffuse laboratory of artistic practices, including performances, concerts, exhibitions, workshops, and meetings. A highlight is the solo show [Çigae] by artist Gaia De Megni, curated by Gabriele Cordì, which explores themes of return and belonging through a Ligurian lens, featuring her film 'La tigre e i gabbiani' (2019).

Waiting for the 2026 Venice Biennale, on Sky Arte Artbox tells the story of the Turin festival EXPOSED

Aspettando la Biennale Arte 2026, su Sky Arte Artbox racconta il festival torinese EXPOSED

The 24th episode of Sky Arte's program "Artbox" airs on May 5, 2026, coinciding with the official start of the Venice Biennale Arte 2026. The episode focuses on the third edition of EXPOSED Torino Photo Festival, themed "Mettersi a nudo" (Stripping Bare), inspired by Baudelaire. Artistic director Walter Guadagnini, photographers Toni Thorimbert and Paola Agosti, and curator Giangavino Pazzola discuss the festival's exhibitions, including Paola Agosti's feminist photography at the Museo Nazionale del Risorgimento and Yorgos Lanthimos's photographs at the Cripta di San Michele Arcangelo. The episode also covers a Max Bill retrospective at the m.a.x. museo in Chiasso, Switzerland, and features segments on art and truth, a book on Milan's Central Station, and a project from Milan Design Week 2026 by Spanish artist Pau Aguilò.

What lies behind the choice of a dress? We asked one of the most famous stylists in the world

Cosa c’è dietro alla scelta di un vestito? Lo abbiamo chiesto a uno degli stylist più famosi del mondo

Tom Eerebout, a renowned stylist and fashion consultant known for his work with Lady Gaga, Kylie Minogue, and Austin Butler, has curated an exhibition titled "Exposure – Il potere di essere visti" at ITS Arcademy in Trieste. The show, which runs alongside the ITS Contest where Eerebout serves as a judge for the third consecutive year, explores styling as a tool for constructing identity and shaping contemporary visual culture. In an interview, Eerebout discusses his creative process, his early childhood experiments with costumes, and his belief that styling is not about appearance but about how we exist.

France reopens its historic pavilion at the 2026 Venice Art Biennale after restorations with artist Yto Barrada

La Francia riapre il suo storico padiglione alla Biennale Arte 2026 dopo i restauri con l’artista Yto Barrada

France will reopen its historic pavilion at the 61st Venice Biennale (May 9–November 22, 2026) after restoration, with Franco-Moroccan artist Yto Barrada (b. 1971) presenting the immersive textile-based project "Comme Saturne," curated by Myriam Ben Salah. The exhibition uses the "dévoré" technique—acid selectively corrodes fabric—as a metaphor for destruction and creation, featuring a goat-skin kite, a Room of Folds with wool drapery that fades in natural light, a Laboratory inspired by Saturnalia, and a Study Room linked to Barrada's garden of dye plants in Tangier, culminating in the Room of the Devoured where chemically attacked material fragments into an aesthetic of wear and formlessness.

Inspiring Connections

An exhibition titled "Jean F. Watson: An Artistic Legacy" at the City of Edinburgh showcases over 40 historical and contemporary Scottish artworks acquired through the Jean F. Watson Bequest Fund. Featured artists include Arthur Melville, JD Fergusson, Anne Redpath, Joan Eardley, Eduardo Paolozzi, Elizabeth Blackadder, Alison Watt, and Leena Nammari, among others. Highlights include Fergusson's "The Blue Hat, Closerie des Lilas," Blackadder's "Irises," and a pandemic-inspired installation by Virginia Hutchison. The display spans drawing, painting, printmaking, photography, and sculpture across 250 years.